White Hot
by Crisco61
Summary: Mitsurugi and Setsuka run into eachother during a snow storm. What happens when Setsuka passes out and Mitsurugi is left to be the rock?


(Diclaimer: I don't own SC

A/N: R&R! Story from my DA.)

It was almost like a blizzard. Snow blew angrily and the winds howled. It was dark out and it was so cold...it froze your bones and stole your breath. And there was nothing in sight. No town, no village...nothing.

Setsuka could barely move in the shin deep snow. She trudged forward, fighting the gushing wind and squinting through the heavy snow. It blew on her face, got in her eyes, clung to her lashes and her blond hair. Her teeth chattered loudly and she shivered violently. The kimono she wore was inappropriate for the weather conditions. The fabric whipped around her and her legs were numb, her chest and lungs aching. Her feet were completely frozen, the color an unnatural purplish-blue that traveled up to her shins. She didn't believe she'd make it through this storm alive. Hypothermia and the increasing drop in temperature and decreasing hope of finding a town would surely be the death of her. Even though she tried her best to keep the snow from falling on her head with her umbrella, the wind was too strong and the snow found ways to blow underneath.

Setsuka took a few more slow and trembling steps before she stopped. A man was pushing through the storm, heading her direction. He was hard to see for the masking snow. As he came closer, Setsuka waved her arm out, catching his attention.

The man had a crazy ponytail that stuck out of the back of his head with a few strands of hair blowing around his face. He was rugged with dark stubble and deep eyes, a body covered with battle scars and a physique so perfect. Wasn't he cold with hardly anything on? Of course. He trembled too, snow sticking to his lashes and hair.

"I-is t-there a t-town a-ahead?"

Setsuka managed to stutter out over the roar of the storm. The man shook his head.

"No! If there was, why would I be out here?"

Setsuka felt stupid.

"I...d-don't know! S-s-sorry!"

As she continued to look at the man, he became more and more familiar. Her brow furrowed slowly and her mouth hung open a little. It finally dawned on her who this man was.

In a flash, Setsuka had her sword at his throat, her eyes filled with rage.

"You're M-Mitsurugi! I've b-been looking f-for you! You k-killed m-my master! Murdered h-him! You s-shall p-pay with y-your life!"

Mitsurugi stood still, his calm eyes assessing the situation. The woman was freezing. Her skin color was off and she had little strength left. He could use this to his advantage.

"Not now! Not here! Wait until you are fully energized to try your worst on me! You are in no way fit to fight me here! I can see it in your appearance! If you don't get warm soon...you will surely die and never have a fair chance at killing me!"

Setsuka could feel the energy just drain out of her and she knew what Mitsurugi said was right. Lowering her weapon, she placed it back in her umbrella and took a staggering step backwards before she fell forward and everything went black.

Warmth. Setsuka felt warm. Her eyes fluttered open and she saw flames. A fire. Pushing up from the hard ground, she looked around the dim, rocky area. Mitsurugi sat at the other side of the fire, his eyes closed in what looked like meditation of some sort.

As her eyes adjusted to the lighting, she noticed they were inside a cave. She sat up completely and held her hands out to the fire, letting the warmth fill her up. Her eyes glued to Mitsurugi and she felt the bubbling hatred for him start to rise. No! She couldn't do anything now! He, as much as she hated to admit it, saved her life. And she was still weak.

Mitsurugi opened his eyes and turned his head to look at Setsuka. He had taken his hair down, which flipped out naturally and made him look a little softer.

"How are you feeling?"

Setsuka shrugged and looked down at her feet, which had returned to normal. She was a little surprised to see them back to their fleshy color with blood flow. When she wiggled her toes she could feel it. Her eyes shifted back to Mitsurugi, who looked at her silently.

"How am I...normal and warm already? And where are we? What happened?"

Mitsurugi turned his head away and looked at the cave wall.

"You passed out back there...and I caught you, carrying you here. I took a chance in veering off the path into some woods, finding a rock face, luckily, which had this cave. It was better than nothing. You were so cold...you felt like ice in my arms. So, I immediately built a fire and..."

Mitsurugi stopped talking, his eyes glancing over at Setsuka.

"The rest you won't want to hear."

Setsuka stiffened and looked at him cautiously.

"What did you do to me? I demand an answer."

Mitsurugi sighed with a shake of his head, his hair swishing back and forth.

"Alright, fine. I used body heat. I laid by the fire and held you against me with you facing the fire. I had to keep you warm. You were just...an ice block. Once you were warm and started to look normal again, I left you alone."

Setsuka was before Mitsurugi in a split second. She knocked his weapon away and grabbed his neck, her face threatening as it was only inches from his.

"You held me? You touched me? What gave you the idea you could do that? You know I want you dead! You just added another stick to the fire, you mongrel!"

Mitsurugi sat un-phased. Setsuka was sitting in his lap...straddle style and she was dangerously close. He could feel her breasts brush against his chest every time she breathed. She was very beautiful and Mitsurugi smirked lightly.

"Without me, you'd be dead. So, get your hand off of my neck, wench. I know how to kill you with two fingers...so I suggest you do as I say."

Setsuka grimaced and reluctantly let go of his neck, the rest of her unmoving. She knew she had no chance against Mitsurugi, especially with her weakened state. The stories about him were famous. He never lost a battle or a fight. His skills were unmatched and he was a force to be reckoned with. The phrase 'dance with the devil' could be literally applied to Mitsurugi in a fight. He was strong and brave, not to mention handsome, in his own rough and rugged way.

Setsuka let her eyes roam over his face, pause on his lips and then keep going. Mitsurugi noticed this and he kept a straight face, though he felt like smiling at her diminishing fervor.

"Why did you kill him?"

She finally asked in a whisper. Mitsurugi glanced to the fire and gave a small shrug.

"He was just another opponent who lost. Nothing more."

Setsuka had loved her master dearly, and losing him was heartbreaking. But Mitsurugi was kind of tragic, in a way. All his years of fighting, of being a samurai, he's never had the fufillment of engaging an opponent who could best him. Always winning could be a bummer. All he wanted was to die by the sword of a man stronger than himself. But he was the best...he was the mightiest.

Setsuka didn't know what compelled her to lean forward and brush her lips against his jaw. The reaction she received from him was more than satisfactory. She felt his breath on her neck, his lips skimming over her skin. Had he ever been with a woman before?

"How many women have you ravaged?"

Setsuka said softly in his ear, her hands running onto his shoulders, feeling the scars. His lips began to press against her neck in tender kisses, his hands ghosting over her sides and back, his fingertips sending sparks through her skin. Setsuka tilted her head a little, allowing Mitsurugi to kiss her further.

"A few...whenever I had the time."

Setsuka sighed and moved her hands off his shoulders to grab his hands and bring them to her breasts. She gave him a seductive look from under her lashes as he pulled back from her neck to look at her curiously.

"Want to add one more to your list?"

Mitsurugi let his eyes wander from her eyes to her lips and then down to where his hands were. Setsuka let go of his hands to allow him the freedom to have them touch and roam wherever he pleased. He kept his hands on her breasts and looked back up to her eyes.

"I can't turn down a woman as beautiful as you...Setsuka."

Mitsurugi barely kissed her lips. They kissed that way for a few minutes, their lips barely touching, pulling away and then moving back in. As Mitsurugi's hands began to slide Setsuka's kimono off her chest, letting it fall from her shoulders, their kisses became more hard and slow, their tongues becoming involved.

Setsuka allowed herself to rest back on the floor, Mitsurugi atop her. The kimono she wore served as their bed, Mitsurugi's hakama too. Setsuka moved her legs from underneath him, positioning them at his hips. This wasn't her first time in doing this but she'd never experienced it with a man as seasoned as Mitsurugi. She gripped his hair and arched her back a little, letting out a small sigh. The pain of the first time she slept with someone wasn't present because...well, this wasn't her first time. Her body was familiar with the presence of a man and let her enjoy the feeling without too much discomfort. Sure, there was a slight, very slight discomfort because Mitsurugi was different from everyone else. Her body easily adjusted to him and she was pleased. Mitsurugi knew how to satisfy a woman, and he knew how to satisfy her good. Setsuka couldn't deny that this was probably the best bedding she's received...ever.

The storm was over by morning, leaving behind knee deep snow. The clouds covered the sky as Setsuka pushed herself slowly through the snow. Mitsurugi was a few feet in front of her and she scowled at his back.

"You should be carrying me, mongrel!"

She growled. Mitsurugi turned around and frowned at her, making his way back over and grabbing her, tossing her over his shoulder.

"No! No! Carry me properly! What are you, a barbarian?"

Mitsurugi ignored her comments, just brushed them off with a simple,

"Be thankful you're being carried at all, brat."

Mitsurugi was going to be thirty soon, he didn't have the patience to deal with a twenty-four year old's childish complaints.

Setsuka huffed and allowed herself to be hauled through the snow.

Mitsurugi put Setsuka down on a part of the path that wasn't as deep in snow, giving her a quick once over before turning his back to her and trudging off in the opposite direction.

Setsuka furrowed her brow and moved as fast as her legs could carry her over to Mitsurugi and grabbed his wrist.

"Hey! Don't you think you're forgetting something?"

Mitsurugi turned around and roughly kissed her, kissed her full on. Setsuka hated herself for loving the way he kissed her like he owned her or something. She hated that she felt like something was being ripped away from her when he pulled away and started to walk off again.

Setsuka was freezing just standing there, watching the back of the man she wanted to kill, wanted to come back and sweep her off her feet. She hesitated for a minute before stumbling through the snow a few steps.

"Mitsurugi, you bastard! Don't you dare leave me behind! You know I'll freeze to death out here! You know I won't make it anywhere alive! Besides! I haven't even gotten my chance to kill you yet! So, you get back here...right now!"

Setsuka pointed to the spot in front of her when Mitsurugi turned to look at her. He had an amused smirk on his face as he headed back over to her. Setsuka ignored the quick beating of her heart as he stood in front of her, looking at her with those deep eyes.

Mitsurugi snaked his arm around her waist and picked her up, holding her bridal style.

"That's right. You've got to kill me...I almost forgot."

His lips pressed against her's for a moment before he pulled back and looked her in the eyes.

"Thanks for reminding me."

Setsuka knew there was a part of her who still hated him and wanted to kill him for what he did to her master but...she also knew that a lot of her wanted to spend every waking moment living life and finding love with him. What was she to do in that kind of situation?

Mitsurugi began walking down the snow laden path, his fiesty partner in his arms. He knew she wouldn't kill him. She'd end up falling in love with him first and beg him to be her husband, to love her for the rest of their lives.

And to be honest...Mitsurugi didn't see things any other way now. And neither did Setsuka~


End file.
